Votive candles bearing the photos of two men who were fatally stabbed on a Portland, Ore., light-train while trying to stop another man from harassing two young women with an anti-Muslim tirade, sit on a rain-soaked memorial on Tuesday, May 30, 2107 in Portland. Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, and Ricky Best, 53, died in the attack. The suspect, Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, made a first court appearance on charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder Tuesday in a Portland, Oregon courthouse. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

The Latest: Trains, buses to halt in honor of men killed

May 30, 2017 - 9:53 pm

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly stabbing attack on a Portland, Oregon, light-rail train (all times local):

6:40 p.m.

Transit officials plan to halt all buses and trains Friday in a moment of silence honoring the men killed and others affected by the attack on a northeast Portland train.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (https://goo.gl/y5ktAS ) that MAX operators will stop trains at their nearest station and bus drivers will pull over at stops or along their routes at noon Friday.

TriMet also invites the public to participate in the minute of silence.

"TriMet stands together with our community," the agency said in a statement.

The statement refers to Rick Best, 53; Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23; and Micah Fletcher, 21. Best and Namkai-Meche died of multiple stab wounds. Fletcher was released from an area hospital late on Monday.

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4:40 p.m.

Prosecutors say the man charged with stabbing three men aboard a Portland light-rail train confessed while in the back seat of a patrol car after his arrest.

Court documents released Tuesday say Jeremy Joseph Christian was captured on video and audio surveillance saying he had stabbed three people in the neck. Two died.

The probable cause affidavit written by Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Lufkin says Christian also calls himself a "patriot" and says, "That's what liberalism gets you" as he discusses the killings.

Christian appeared in court on aggravated murder and other charges Tuesday, but he didn't enter a plea.

Authorities say he stabbed three men who tried to stop him from shouting anti-Muslim slurs at two young women. One of the women was wearing a Muslim head covering and both were black.

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4:05 p.m.

Commotion erupted outside the courtroom as the man charged with stabbing three men aboard a Portland light-rail train was arraigned.

Just as Jeremy Christian concluded his brief appearance, yelling and screaming could be heard from the hallway as supporters of the victims confronted a supporter of the defendant.

Deputies escorted the man from the scene, prompting the group to lash out at law enforcement for protecting him.

Those involved in the confrontation could not get into the courtroom because all the seats were taken.

Courtroom security barred spectators from leaving the arraignment until the disruption simmered down.

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3:20 p.m.

The lone man to survive a stabbing attack on a Portland, Oregon, light rail train says he's having a difficult time processing what happened.

KGW-TV reports (https://goo.gl/HJjwpI) that Micah Fletcher says he's focusing on trying to get better. "I got stabbed in the neck on my way to work, randomly, by a stranger I don't know, for trying to just be a nice person," he said. "Like, I don't know what to do after that, you know."

He told the TV station, "I'm healing. That's what I'm doing. As much as I can, in whatever way I can."

A hospital spokeswoman says Fletcher was released Monday night.

Authorities say Jeremy Christian on Friday started verbally abusing two young women, including one wearing a hijab. Police say when three other men on the train, including Fletcher, intervened, Christian attacked them. Two men were killed.

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2:54 p.m.

The man police say fatally stabbed two men who tried to shield young women from an anti-Muslim tirade shouted "you call it terrorism I call it patriotism!" during his first court appearance.

Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was in Multnomah County courtroom Tuesday afternoon facing two counts of felony aggravated murder and other charges for the Friday incident on a Portland, Oregon, light-rail train.

He made repeated outbursts in court.

He has been appointed public defenders. Lane Borg, the head of the local public defender agency, said the office was "saddened by this tragedy" but urged people to let the justice system take its course.

Authorities say Christian started verbally abusing two young women, including one wearing a hijab. Three men on the train intervened before police say Christian attacked them, killing two and wounding one.

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1:43 p.m.

The man charged with stabbing three men on a Portland light-rail train told jailers that he has no income, no mental health issues and does not remember the last time he had a permanent address.

Court documents based on Jeremy Christian's interview at the Multnomah County Jail show he was concerned about free speech. The interviewer wrote that Christian became loud and animated when talking about what he believed to be the suppression of free speech.

Christian says he went to school through 9th grade, but passed the high school equivalency exam commonly known as the G.E.D. and took some community college classes.

Christian has three prior felonies.

Christian faces aggravated murder and other charges. Police say he went into a racist tirade on the train and stabbed the men who intervened, killing two and wounding a third.

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12:20 p.m.

The homicide detective investigating a triple stabbing on a Portland light-rail train says in court documents that surveillance and cellphone video shows 35-year-old Jeremy Christian cutting the three victims with a knife last Friday.

Detective Michele Michaels says in a probable cause affidavit made public Tuesday that the videos have audio of Christian spewing racial and religious epithets during the attack that killed two men and wounded a third.

Police and witnesses say the victims were defending two teen girls who were the focus of Christian's tirade. One is black and the other was wearing a hijab. Michaels says the girls told her they had felt threatened.

Christian faces charges of aggravated murder and other crimes.

He told jailers he has no permanent address.

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10:10 a.m.

The mother of a 23-year-old man stabbed to death on a Portland light-rail train while trying to defend two young women from an anti-Muslim tirade has asked President Trump to encourage Americans to protect and watch out for each other.

In a letter to Trump, Asha Deliverance said her son Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and two other men acted did not hesitate to confront the bully because the two female passengers were being harassed. Her son and another man died. A third man was injured and released from a hospital Tuesday.

Deliverance says she is grieving but proud of her son's selfless action.

She urged Trump to condemn acts of violence that result from hate speech and hate groups. She says such a step would deeply honor her son's sacrifice.

The president said in a tweet Monday that the three stabbing victims stood up to hate and intolerance, and the attack was unacceptable.

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8:55 a.m.

The lone surviving victim of a triple stabbing aboard a Portland light-rail train has been released from the hospital.

Micah Fletcher suffered a neck wound Friday after coming to the defense of two young women who were verbally abused by a man before he allegedly stabbed Fletcher and two other men who died. One of the women was wearing a hijab.

Back in high school, he won a citywide Portland Public Schools poetry slam. In one of his poems, he spoke out against the prejudice faced by Muslims since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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12:23 a.m.

The man police say fatally stabbed two other men who tried to shield young women from an anti-Muslim tirade on a Portland, Oregon, light-rail train makes his initial court appearance Tuesday and the city's mayor says he hopes the slayings will inspire "changes in the political dialogue in this country."

The attack happened Friday, the first day of Ramadan, the holiest time of the year for Muslims. Authorities say Christian started verbally abusing two young women, including one wearing a hijab. Three other men on the train intervened before police say Christian attacked them, killing two and wounding one.

President Donald Trump condemned the stabbings, writing Monday on Twitter: "The violent attacks in Portland on Friday are unacceptable. The victims were standing up to hate and intolerance. Our prayers are w/ them."

Mayor Ted Wheeler said he appreciated Trump's words but stressed the need for action. Wheeler urged organizers to cancel a "Trump Free Speech Rally" in Portland and other similar events next weekend, saying they are inappropriate and could be dangerous.